Premier League wrap: Haaland sets new club record; Arsenal keep lead at the top
Records continued to tumble at the feet of Erling Braut Haaland as Manchester City returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 4-1 thumping of a spirited Bournemouth side at the Vitality Stadium.
The Norwegian powerhouse became City’s highest goalscorer in a single Premier League campaign with a 27th strike on the South coast, complementing efforts from Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden and a Chris Mepham own goal.
The Cherries would bag a late consolation through Jefferson Lerma – which is no less than their courageous performance deserved – but there was no quelling Pep Guardiola’s fired-up juggernaut.
Arsenal survived another dose of VAR controversy to overcome Leicester City 1-0 and go five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Gabriel Martinelli’s strike 50 seconds into the start of the second half was enough to propel the Gunners over the line, with Brendan Rodgers’s men rarely threatening the Arsenal backline in the same manner that they did against Manchester United last weekend.
Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins scored a penalty and Emiliano Buendia added a second goal as they beat Everton 2-0 in a frenetic Premier League encounter at Goodison Park on Saturday to leave the home side in the bottom three.
Despite dominating the game for long spells, Everton could not fashion a goal and are now 18th in the table on 21 points, above Bournemouth on goal difference, while Villa are 11th on 31 points.
The best chance of a high-energy first half fell to Everton, with Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez forced into a superb reflex save to deny Amadu Onana’s header in the 34th minute.
With Villa pinned back in their own half and struggling to pass the ball out from the back, Everton went even closer in the 54th minute as Tyrone Mings was forced to clear the ball off the line after a goal-mouth scramble.
Watkins went close with a header before Villa were awarded a penalty in the 61st minute when McGinn was upended in the box by Idrissa Gueye. Watkins stepped up and smashed the spot kick past Jordan Pickford to break the deadlock.
Everton poured forward in search of an equaliser but they were punished when Buendia collected a pass from John McGinn and lashed a shot inside the near post in the 81st minute to secure the win for Villa.
New Leeds United manager Javi Gracia’s reign began with a 1-0 home victory over bottom club Southampton as Junior Firpo’s goal helped the Yorkshire club to snap a 10-game winless run and move out of the relegation zone on Saturday.
Leeds jumped to 17th on 22 points after 24 games, a point above the drop zone, following a first league win since before the World Cup break.
The hosts dominated possession in Gracia’s first game since his appointment this week and edged a scrappy first half in which neither side created much of note.
Firpo finally broke the deadlock in front of a raucous Elland Road in the 77th minute, squeezing a tame effort under Gavin Bazunu after being cleverly set up with a flick by Jack Harrison.
Southampton piled on the pressure as they desperately searched for an equaliser, and dead-ball specialist James Ward-Prowse nearly created one as he whipped in a corner in 90th minute, but he was let down by a poor header from team mate Armel Bella-Kotchap.
Southampton, who will have thought their luck was turning after taking three points at Chelsea last week, remain 20th.
West Ham striker Danny Ings bagged his first two goals for the club in an emphatic 4-0 win over fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest, which lifted the east Londoners out of the drop zone.
Ings, making his first start since switching from Aston Villa for 15 million pounds in January after four substitute appearances, broke the deadlock in the 70th minute when he struck a Jarrod Bowen cross on the turn past keeper Keylor Navas.
He netted again in the 73rd by bundling home a Said Benrahma cross before Declan Rice curled in a sumptuous shot from outside the area in the 78th to further raise the volume at the London Stadium after a sleepy first half.
Substitute Michail Antonio then deepened Forest’s misery by appearing at the back post to head in a cross from Pablo Fornals, completing West Ham’s biggest win of the season in all competitions.
The victory took West Ham up to 16th in the standings on 23 points, temporarily easing the pressure on manager David Moyes.
Forest are 13th in the table on 25 points.
